irish·finances

Guide

Crypto tax in Ireland

There's no special crypto regime. Revenue treats it like any other asset — disposals are CGT, mining/staking is income. The mechanics are well-trodden but the record-keeping is a horror show.

Calculate disposals in the CGT tool

The basics

  • Disposal of crypto = CGT event. 33% on gain, €1,270 annual exemption per person, FIFO matching mandatory.
  • Mining, staking, airdrops, validator rewards = income. Taxed at marginal rate (PAYE+USC+PRSI for employees, Schedule D Case I or IV for self-assessed).
  • Crypto-to-crypto trades count. Swapping ETH for SOL is a CGT event on the ETH disposal — you don't get to defer until you sell to euro.
  • Stablecoin swaps count too. ETH → USDC realises any gain on ETH.
  • Self-custody transfers (between your own wallets) don't count. No disposal, no event.
  • NFT mints and sales count. Mint cost is your basis; sale proceeds vs basis = gain.

Not the 41% ETF regime

Common point of confusion: crypto is not an "Investment Undertaking" and is not subject to the 41% deemed-disposal regime that applies to UCITS ETFs. It's straight CGT. (See the ETF guide if you're worried about the distinction.)

Cost basis and FIFO

For each disposal, you match against your oldest unsold tranche first. Revenue requires this. With crypto that often means re-creating years of buy history — exchange CSVs back to 2017, on-chain trades, DEX history, the lot.

The €1,270 annual exemption applies after pooling all CGT gains and losses for the year (across crypto, stocks, gold, anything that isn't an Investment Undertaking).

The CGT calculator handles FIFO and accepts USD/EUR/GBP rows — useful when your exchange records prices in USD.

Mining, staking, validator rewards

These are two taxable events:

  1. At receipt: the EUR-equivalent value of the coins received is taxable as income at your marginal rate. Your cost basis for those coins is whatever value you were taxed on.
  2. When you eventually sell: CGT on the difference between sale price and that cost basis. Could be a loss if the price has dropped since the staking event.

Casual stakers usually treat the income as miscellaneous (Schedule D Case IV). Volume-and-frequency matters — running a serious node can push you into Case I trading income with all the joys of self-employment tax.

DeFi lending, yield farming, LP positions

Revenue hasn't published comprehensive guidance, but the conservative interpretation:

  • Lending interest in crypto: income at receipt, in EUR equivalent.
  • Adding to a liquidity pool: arguably a disposal of the deposited tokens. Many take the position that LP tokens are "different assets," but Revenue could disagree on audit.
  • Removing from an LP: disposal of the LP tokens, acquisition of the underlying. Document the EUR value at the time.
  • Wrapped tokens (WETH, wBTC): arguably no disposal because the underlying claim is unchanged — but again, no Revenue clarity.

When in doubt: track everything, take the conservative position, and consider getting a professional opinion if the numbers are material.

NFTs

  • Buying an NFT with ETH: CGT on the ETH disposed.
  • Selling an NFT: CGT on (sale price − mint/buy price) in EUR.
  • Royalty income from NFT resales: income at receipt.
  • Receiving an NFT airdrop: income equal to its EUR value at receipt.

When you lose money — what counts

  • Realised CGT loss: the asset's gone (sold, bridged irretrievably, sent to wrong address). Offsets gains in same year, carries forward.
  • Stablecoin de-peg / exchange collapse (FTX, Celsius, Voyager): you can claim a loss when the asset becomes worthless — but Revenue wants evidence (bankruptcy filing, exchange notice).
  • Hacked/lost wallet: grey area. Police report and supporting documentation needed to claim. Don't claim until you have it.
  • Just hodling at a paper loss: not a loss for tax purposes. Have to actually dispose.

Filing — myAccount + Form CG1

For PAYE workers with crypto disposals only:

  1. Sign in to Revenue myAccount
  2. PAYE Services → File a Form CG1 for the relevant year
  3. Enter total proceeds, total cost (FIFO), gain, exemption used, CGT due
  4. Pay the CGT separately by 15 December (or 31 January if disposals were in December)

For self-assessed taxpayers (or anyone with mining/staking income), it goes on the Form 11 instead.

Even with no tax due, you must file a return if you had disposals (gain or loss). The €1,270 exemption is automatic, but the filing isn't.

Revenue gets exchange data via DAC8 (EU Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework) and TIN sharing. They will eventually know about your Coinbase / Kraken / Binance.ie account. Voluntary disclosure is much cheaper than getting caught.

Record-keeping — the actual hard part

For every disposal you need:

  • Date and time
  • Asset, amount, EUR-equivalent at the time
  • Cost basis (purchase price + fees, in EUR at the time of purchase)
  • Proceeds in EUR (less any fees)

Tools that can help: Koinly, CoinTracker, Recap, CryptoTaxCalculator — all support the Irish CGT format and can output a CG1-ready summary. Worth their cost if you have more than ~20 disposals/year.

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